I am Mike Smet from Antwerp in Belgium. When I'm teaching echocardiography, I always remind my students that there are really just three basic probe movements: You either rotate the probe, Slide the probe along the body, Or tilt it to change your angle of view. These simple techniques form the foundation of ultrasound scanning—and once understood, they empower clinicians to begin exploring visual medicine. This is a beginner's course, designed to spark interest in both basic and more advanced ultrasound applications. Point-of-care ultrasound is truly a revolution in bedside medicine—it allows for faster and more accurate diagnoses. For example, if a patient presents with shortness of breath, a basic lung or cardiac ultrasound can lead you to the correct diagnosis within minutes. One of the key diagnostic distinctions we teach is how to tell the difference between pleural and pericardial fluid: If the fluid lies behind the heart and behind the aorta, it's pleural fluid. If it lies in front of the aorta, it's pericardial fluid. Our hands-on training sessions are particularly valuable for those who have never used ultrasound before. They provide a chance to view the basic cardiac and abdominal scans, helping participants become familiar with a form of medical imaging once reserved for radiologists. But ultrasound is rapidly expanding—it's no longer confined to imaging departments. It's coming to every floor: the emergency department, the ICU, and even the general wards. It's becoming an essential tool for clinicians everywhere. We encourage learners to start with big, sweeping motions—like battleships—as they navigate their first scans. And soon, they'll begin to recognize the structures and signs that lead to confident, bedside diagnosis.

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